Empire of Shadows

“Ah…”

A scream came from the changing room, and a young man said sorry before closing the door again.

“This is the last shop.”

Several young people gathered together, they had not only searched all the shops, but even the fire escape, toilets, and all possible corners!

There was no place in the entire mall they hadn't discovered!

After searching everywhere, Lisa still hadn't been found, which meant Lisa was no longer in the mall.

After hearing this news, Ponda thanked everyone while driving home with the maid.

If Lisa wasn't in the mall, could she have already gone home?

The house was empty, and apart from the other domestic helper, Lisa hadn't returned.

Ponda became even more anxious and agitated, because Lisa was still carrying a big belly, the maid reminded him, "Could Madam have gone to the hospital?"

Ponda hurriedly ran through all the nearby hospitals, but still couldn't find Lisa.

Lisa had vanished like thin air, completely disappeared!

She had no relatives or family here, Ponda didn't know where else she could go!

The increasingly dim sky, those dark alleys on the streets, the small river by the roadside, the distant sea, each seemed like a demon capable of devouring human life, greedily opening its huge mouth.

Ponda could no longer imagine it, he could only pray to God to bless his wife and keep her safe, while driving around the streets aimlessly.

He only had one question now, where exactly was Lisa?

“I thought you were dead.”

Mr. Hoff sat on the sofa looking at the woman sitting opposite him, "I arranged for people to look for you, they said you were missing, said you had an accident, and in the end, those people themselves died."

“I always thought you were dead, Lisa.”

Mr. Hoff held his wine glass, swirling it in his hand, he seemed to be reminiscing about their past.

“You were one of my favorite girls, we spent many interesting nights together, and do you think I'm a bad person?”

Mr. Hoff raised his glass and took a sip, "They always leave those girls battered and bruised, or make them disappear, vanish without a trace."

“But look, have I ever done that?”

“Your dishonesty and evasion make me very sad, Lisa.”

Lisa remained silent.

In the afternoon, when the maid went to the bathroom to wash fruit, a strange man suddenly sat opposite her.

“Sorry, sir, this seat is taken, she'll be right back,” Lisa reminded him with a smile, he shouldn't be sitting here.

But the man opposite didn't seem to have any intention of leaving, at least not immediately.

He took off his sunglasses and looked at Lisa sitting opposite him, saying, "Lisa?"

Lisa's expression suddenly became alert, she stared carefully at the man's face for a long time, but couldn't find such a person in her mind at all!

She shook her head and said, "I don't know you."

The man's smile was actually quite gentle, with a harmless look, "We've actually met, but you probably wouldn't have noticed me, because every time you and that man were playing games in the room, I was working outside."

Lisa became a little uneasy, she stood up, supporting her belly, "I don't know what you're talking about, sir, I'm feeling a little unwell, I need to leave."

The man didn't stop her, he just smiled and said, "You wouldn't want your husband to know that you used to be a high-class call girl, would you?"

“A senior agent of the Hazardous Materials Administration, with a high-class call girl for a wife, do you think he would become the laughingstock of the law enforcement bureau?”

The man took out a piece of deerskin, wiping the sunglasses in his hand, Lisa, who had already stood up, even with one foot already stepping out, sat back down again.

“What do you want to do?” she asked, biting her lip.

She once thought it would be easy to deal with an inexperienced young man, she never thought that sometimes sincerity could defeat lies even more!

She lost to Ponda, who was full of sincere feelings for her, when Ponda put fifty thousand dollars in front of her, she fell.

So she didn't want anything to happen to this man, the man she loved, and she didn't want him to become the laughingstock of others.

She thought everything would be fine, but she didn't expect this day to come so quickly.

She had previously considered whether Ponda's rapid promotion would attract the attention of the Bay Area, causing her to be discovered.

She even secretly rejoiced that Ponda hadn't been able to get promoted, at least she had kept her distance from the Bay Area.

But now it seemed that hiding was meaningless.

“Mr. Hoff wants to see you,” the man extended an invitation.

Hearing this name again, Lisa's body visibly trembled slightly.

She was very familiar with this man, outwardly glamorous, but with stench and disgust hidden in his bones!

Before, she had no choice, in Red High Heels, it was either obey or die, she didn't want to die, so she had to obey.

But now, she was no longer the person she used to be, she didn't want to continue that kind of life.

“Can I… not go?”

The man shrugged indifferently, "That's your right, but soon everyone will know that Lisa is married, and also has a Hazardous Materials Administration husband."

“F*ck!” Lisa cursed, she didn't hesitate any longer, "Let's go, let's go see Mr. Hoff."

There was still some of her spiciness in her bones, once she made a decision, she wouldn't regret it.

She went to the parking lot with the man, got into his car, and returned to the familiar Bay Area, to the familiar villa.

Here, there wasn't much change from before, she was so familiar with it that she could find the door even with her eyes closed.

Someone wanted to search her, but she refused, and the man also exempted her from the search process, calling it her "privilege."

A dozen minutes later, here, she met her old customer, Mr. Hoff.

…

Mr. Hoff kept staring at her, perhaps feeling compelled to say something from being stared at, or perhaps she felt some discomfort with the current situation, she said, "The past life is over, Mr. Hoff."

“I'm married now and no longer do these things, please don't make things difficult for me!”

Mr. Hoff leaned back on the sofa, he looked serious and gentlemanly on the surface, but the strong desire hidden in his eyes was like a flame that made people feel uneasy.

He licked his lips, "You owe me one."

Lisa was stunned for a moment, not understanding, "When did I owe you one?"

Mr. Hoff straightened up, putting his wine glass back on the coffee table while leaning forward, full of aggression and invasiveness, "The last time, you were already on your way, but you disappeared halfway, and I had already paid for you."

“You owe me one, Lisa.”

“After this last time, I will never contact you again, nor will I disturb your life.”

The last time…

Lisa thought of that time, she was caught, held down, and about to be sent to Mr. Hoff's villa, but Lance saved her and hid her.

In a sense, what Mr. Hoff said wasn't entirely wrong.

He paid the money, ordered the service, but the person didn't come.

Lisa responded, "But they called other girls for you."

The smile on Mr. Hoff's face lessened a lot, "But the one I wanted was you!"

“Lisa, is it so difficult to agree to me?”

Lisa stroked her bulging belly, insisting again, "I'm pregnant."

Mr. Hoff looked at her, the smile on his face gradually receding, "My patience is limited, you know, destroying you, your husband, and your child, is not a complicated matter for me!"

“Before my patience runs out, you better make a decision.”

“Although I may not be qualified to say this, I hope you seriously consider it, and then cherish your current life…”

He looked at Lisa with a condescending gaze, as if looking at a toy in his hand.

He wouldn't respect toys or the opinions of toys, these words were actually all a way of playing.

When you get a toy in your hand, you might assign some identities to this toy, and arrange some plots.

Just like now, these plots, developments, will make him excited, he feels like he is as strong as a steel pipe now, terrifying!

Lisa looked at him, and after a moment of silence, said, "If you insist on sending me to the basement today, it definitely won't be me alive, it can only be my corpse."

When she said these words, her voice wasn't loud, but it gave people a very firm feeling!

Mr. Hoff was finally provoked, just like last time!

Last time, their breach of faith made him feel like he was being played with, and this time, Lisa's attitude made him feel like he was being looked down upon!

He stood up and walked to Lisa, raising his hand and slapping her, knocking Lisa onto the sofa, "We have plenty of time to correct your little temper, Lisa!"

Error-free version is reading! Premieres this novel.

“I will make you beg me to enter your body, I guarantee it!”

The sky was getting later and later, and it had gradually darkened completely. Lance, at the invitation of Councilor Williams, came to his manor for dinner.

Councilor Williams was full of interest in everything that happened in New Gold City, of course, as a mature and intelligent politician, he knew what he could ask and what he shouldn't ask.

When he heard that Lance also knew two senators and some political celebrities, the envy on his face was undisguised!

Senators have a huge impact on federal politics!

Many people think that the president is the highest ruler of the federation, but in fact, the highest ruler has never been a single person, but a group of people.

When they gather together, it is called "Congress."

Congress can do almost everything that the president can do, and even things that the president cannot do, Congress can also do.

There are so many senators in the entire federation, and they all have their own circles. Any one of them has the potential to change the federal political landscape.

After all, for a peculiar country like the federation, public relations, lobbying, and the transfer of benefits are all allowed to exist legally in the political arena in various forms.

The more senators you know, the greater your potential political influence.

Senator Williams only knew four or five senators, but he didn't expect Lance to catch up with him soon.

The only difference is that he can still contact these senators, while Lance just met them.

Listening to Lance talking about what he did in New Gold City, listening to some inside stories about the board of directors and equity changes of the Ligee Group that could not be understood from the outside, Senator Williams and his two sons showed surprised expressions!

Yes, Arthur was also at the dinner table today. His mother used her flexible tongue to persuade Senator Williams to give Arthur a chance to grow up at the right time.

Arthur will not compete with James for anything, but he cannot be left with nothing.

Senator Williams, who loved his wife very much, was persuaded by that flexible tongue, so Arthur was rarely able to sit at the dinner table today.

"Amazing operation, but it fits well with their performance."

"A fine of 40 million, changes in equity, all participants in each link have their bellies full!"

"Sometimes I think your luck is really good. This is not the first time Ligee Group has done these things, but no one has ever tried to fight back, and no one has been able to maximize the benefits of the counterattack!"

"You did it. You made them stumble in a way they had never stumbled before, and they were bruised and swollen."

"Among the things you have gained, the least valuable is the four million you wanted most at the beginning."

The least valuable is already worth four million, so how much are those valuable things worth?

No one knows, but it will be worth more than four million at least. Maybe it can be used at some time, and it can be worth tens of millions, or even tens of millions, or hundreds of millions!

Lance also felt that the whole thing was very dramatic, "At first, I just wanted to get justice and get back what they owed me with interest."

"But you know, when we push a stone ball down the mountain, at first we may be pushing the ball, but soon it will be the ball dragging us!"

Senator Williams could hardly disagree with his point of view. After chatting for a while, they naturally talked about the garrison issue.

"This time I heard a very special piece of news over there. They said that the Navy is going to establish a military base in Gold Harbor City."

When Lance revealed this news, Senator Williams looked at him with a very surprised look.

He was not surprised by the news he said, but surprised that Lance could hear news of this level.

Even within the Socialist Party, not many people at the top may know this news.

Senator Williams knows this news because the Socialist Party nominated him as the next mayoral candidate for Gold Harbor City and will do its best to promote him to power.

In other words, he will be directly related to the military's garrison plan, so he will definitely know about this matter.

But other people, like Lance, cannot touch this level of things, but they can also hear about it, which can only mean that he has indeed contacted some amazing people in New Gold City.

"Yes, external changes have begun to put pressure on our internal affairs. This is not necessarily a bad thing, for you, for me, for everyone."

There are benefits to having a garrison, and there are benefits to not having a garrison. Now the external situation is becoming more and more chaotic, and the benefits of having a garrison outweigh the disadvantages.

The two chatted for a while, and the butler knocked on the door, interrupting their conversation, saying that there was a phone call for Lance.

When he came back after answering the phone, Senator Williams felt some curiosity, "Is there anything urgent?"

Lance nodded, "A friend's wife is missing, and she hasn't been found yet. They plan to expand the search scope."

"You know, if my people enter other districts, they must communicate with them first to avoid misunderstandings."

Generally speaking, Senator Williams would not take this kind of small character's disappearance to heart. He just asked casually, "Has the police been called?"

"Do you want me to say hello to Hunter?"

It sounds a little ridiculous, this statement, but in fact, Williams' suggestion is indeed a good suggestion.

People are not necessarily willing to contact the gang, most people are still unwilling to contact the gang, so even if there are some witnesses, but when the gang asks them, they will selectively forget.

Lance hesitated for a moment and agreed to his proposal, "Then I will trouble you. I will have someone send the characteristics over."

Senator Williams became interested in this missing person case. He asked some details in detail. For Senator Williams, who is highly bound to Lance's interests, some secrets are not secrets.

He briefly described Lisa's situation, including Ponta's situation. After listening to Lance's general description, Senator Williams suddenly asked, "Is there a possibility that she is in the Bay Area?"

"Her husband is an agent of the Hazardous Materials Management Bureau, and he was once considered your subordinate. With these two protective charms in Gold Harbor City, no one dares to hurt her casually!"

"Except for the Bay Area!"

"If you can't find her in other places, you might as well try to find her in the Bay Area based on some previous clues. Maybe there will be extra gains."

"But one thing, her past work may be exposed. I don't know if her husband will choose to forgive and continue to accept her, or..."

Senator Williams chuckled, "People are getting older, and suddenly they will be inexplicably interested in these small family ethics matters. If there is any follow-up development, I hope you will not be stingy to share it with me..."

After Lance went back, he took out the notebook they found during the renovation of Red High Heels, and found several work logs related to Lisa in the notebook. Except for a few customers who were only called once, the one who looked for her the most was that Mr. Huff.

He got Mr. Huff's phone number through some relationships, and soon the phone was answered, but it was not borrowed by Mr. Huff, it was his butler.

"I want to talk to Mr. Huff.", Lance stated his intention directly.

His butler gave a negative answer, "Mr. Huff is currently working. He doesn't have time to answer your call. You can leave your name, contact information and the purpose of the call, and I will tell him after he finishes work."

In the dark, Lance just had a feeling that Lisa was with him!